edwin3060

Yea ok we are arguing about the same thing then-- I thought you misunderstood how VAT worked with the whole 17% at each stage thing ("Americans don't have a VAT tax, but the 17% is charged at every step of the cycle - the producer sells to the wholesaler and adds 17%, then the wholesaler adds their mark up + 17% and finally the retailer does the same.")-- which is actually a sales tax (by wiki definitions). Anyway, the whole cashflow issue mentioned by blacklotus brings up an interesting point: Is HLJ facing cashflow issues? I'd understand if they were, because they face the same pressures as (for example) GM or any other distributor in keeping overheads low. However, if there is a prolonged depression in toy sales, would we lose one of our major sources of Japanese toys?

Perhaps they have found a different solution from their VF-1 v2 line? The 1A and 1J seem to be problem free so far, from what I gather from the VF-1 thread, without the use of POM.

Hmm that bodes well for my -1J purchase then. Thanks alot! Yep I think that 30% figure is pretty accurate, on the old saw that people with broken Yamatos tend to make their grievances known rather than leave the forums and never come back, which is actually good for Yamato.

NICE!! Certainly looks much better than the colour for the CF-51

Aren't there region free- DVD players? For example, I have so far played Region 1, 2 and 4 dvds on my laptop with no issues whatsoever.

To me this is just Hollywood riding on the wave of rebooting franchises-- how many reboot movies have we seen released now? It's just the latest craze.

Maybe because it is to Bandai's advantage if Yamato stays out of the US Macross market? To a certain extent, that is. Otoh, Bandai and Yamato are really going for different segments of the market-- Bandai has a more mass-market appeal, while Yamato caters more to the collectors but there are still overlaps in some segments where there is a zero sum game going. You have to admit, Bandai and Toynami partnering increases the chance of there being a Macross Frontier dub in the works.

Sweet! Looks good! Do the shoulder pieces seem like POM to you? (Comparing to the 1/48 that you have)

I think we have different definitions of VAT versus sales tax. From wiki: "Value added tax (VAT), or goods and services tax (GST), is a consumption tax levied on value added. In contrast to sales tax, VAT is neutral with respect to the number of passages that there are between the producer and the final consumer; where sales tax is levied on total value at each stage, the result is a cascade (downstream taxes levied on upstream taxes)." So the VAT that you described (cascade effect) is actually a sales tax, while the sales tax you described (no cascade effect) is actually VAT. Black lotus: Nice to see another Singaporean on the boards! Whatever you may think of our system of Government, you can't deny that our system WORKS. I don't mind paying the Prime Minister two million if it means that he doesn't throw the country into a constitutional crisis, resulting in tourist losses that cost 20 million dollars (for example). Besides, 7% is nothing compared to the rest of the world, or where I am now. Don't be "Shen1 zai4 fu2 zhong1 bu4 zhi1 fu2". Not to mention our income tax rates, which are really low! Finally, sometimes products might be sold as at a marginal loss, but that doesn't mean a net loss for the Company. Reasons for doing so vary, but in this case I suspect that HLJ needs to a)Clear the shelves for the influx of new toys that are coming in the new year and b)Get rid of old stock like the 1/48s, since the (probable) reduction in the volumes being moved with the introduction of the 1/60 v2 means that it is no longer worthwhile to hold on to stock. Remember folks, storage space costs money too!

Where did you find such an amazing masterpiece! Kudos to you! We need to remaster these youtube videos and distribute them to the world! Excluding the US of A of course.

Trekkie joke... The Klingons in Star Trek liked Shakespeare's plays so much (especially Macbeth) that they translated it all into Klingon. I'm not ashamed to admit that I know it! (Ok maybe a little )

We need SK to design a PT Movie Starscream like he did for the G1 Starscream! I would be on that like white on rice... still considering whether to get the MP-03 Starscream but the need for valks is stronger at the moment!

Kinda has a whole Roy Fokker feel to it, which is not surprising given the pilot. I'll probably just stick to the standard VF-11B though.

Can't wait for my pre-order to arrive from Overdrive! Although I combined shipping with my Banpresto models so I gotta wait till March.

Pete: I think you're thinking about the UK, which had a 17.5% VAT, now cut to 15%, which hasn't seemed to do anything about the drop in value of the pound However, Value added Tax is only levied when the product is sold to the final consumer, so it is a one-off thing rather than how you are making it out to be. Also, only certain products are taxed, such as chocolate covered biscuits, whereas others, like chocolate covered cakes, are not-- leading to the case where McVities fought against the UK government on whether Jaffa cakes were cakes or biscuits but I digress.

Or go to these pages: http://ga.sbcr.jp/mgangu/011802/ http://ga.sbcr.jp/mgangu/011531/ http://ga.sbcr.jp/mgangu/011533/ That should tide you over until you can get the real thing /innuendo Which reminds me... damn someone needs to give that VF-25S a neck! Also, looking at all those GA pictures, I think the nicest pose for the DX is GERWALK-- No crappy landing gear or sagging engines of the fighter mode, no neckless squat monstrosity of the Battroid mode. Finally this picture: http://ga.sbcr.jp/mgangu/011531/03.html reminds me of the F-4 Phantom. I like.

Great pictures! You may want to try squeezing the parts just inboard of the hip/intake gun down abit in fighter mode though-- your VF-25S looks like it has the same problems as my VF-25F even though it shouldn't (because my VF-25S doesn't have that gap)

Yes, because a hinge requires somebody to assemble it, while two different tail fins could just be molded and packaged in the box without assembly.

Yep... If anyone is thinking of the model kit, you have to be aware of a few issues 1) Stickers/Decals coming off-- the white sticker that goes around the crotch piece of my VF-25F has torn because of the way it locks with the arms, and I didn't apply the giant skull logo for my VF-25S because the corners of the horns would be incredibly fragile (didn't really like it anyway) 2) It is practically impossible to transform from Gerwalk/Battroid back to Fighter without leaving huge gaps, especially around the hip guns. What you have to do is detach the legs, pull off the hip gun pieces, squeeze the arms into position (no easy task!), reattach the legs as though you were assembling the model for the first time, and finally attach the hip guns again. This is the reason why I think partsforming for the 1/100 is fine, and I have it on pre-order. (No one shoot me!) Edit: Page 1 to Page 4 within one night! I'm impressed! We actually might hit 40 pages before the toy is released

Yea well, I kinda suspected that, but didn't want to piss off too many people around here

Yes... thats why we need fighter mode pics from Bandai! Grrr. I wonder why they have not released any fighter mode VF-25G or RVF-25 yet... We need a Bandai-Graham Hey... doesn't Bandai have offices in the US? Someone should go and infiltrate them! P.S. Well on our way to 40 pages people! Keep it up! P.P.S. Seems like we are all going crazy waiting for this thing to be released

I think it's too obvious that Wang is the mastermind-- which is why she is not the mastermind! While she is playing both sides now, she seems to be pretty set up for a fall, with both her henchwoman (Nena Trinity) and Celestial Being gunning for her (eventually). The "Ultimate Boss" of the series may have yet to be revealed. At least, thats what I'm hoping for, another plot twist. If the Innovators or Wang Liu Min was the mastermind, I'd be pretty disappointed because of how transparent it was-- although I would like to see her in a skin tight Gundam pilot suit

Yep me too. I want to see if my guess about the drooping legs/holes between the legs, the fuselage and the wings is right! (i.e. the legs are drooping to accomodate the Super packs) Ginrai: Yea, but so far I haven't seen any old threads where an adult rips on a teenager for not having a job! Or where people's arguments are criticized based on where they live rather than the merits of the argument! Maybe I haven't checked out enough threads in the Hall of Super Topics... I admit my search has so far been limited to the toy releases I'm perfectly fine with people who hate the toy's design, reliability, price or any other factor-- those discussions allow me to re-evaluate whether I want the toy, and thats good. People who hate other people over a toy though, or people who make ad hominem arguments...that's where my limit is.

Yes, but that doesn't automatically mean that a real-life product can be made. The CGI design may transform in ways that have parts moving without being connected to anything, rotating even where a joint isn't possible, or have support structures that are impossibly thin to make in real life. For example, one of the possible reasons that the 1/72 VF-25 has such a small cockpit (1/90 or 1/100 scale) is because the LERXes that are used to swivel the cockpit in the transformation were too thin in the anime figure and needed to be thicker in order to be more durable in the model. There are also issues with scale-- sometimes a part may be too small to produce in one scale but becomes feasible to produce in another scale-- Yamato went to 1/60 instead of 1/72 for a reason. CAD means that the proportions of the toys may be more accurate (i.e. no more shape changing air intakes ala YF-19) but it doesn't automatically translate to perfect transformation toys.

Good for you! Keeping everything in one scale. Well, I guess it depends on whether you like the Fighter mode on the DX, or dislike it like some vocal people on this board. Personally, I'm like knightdramon-- waiting for a second release or at least till January, though in my case it's more a case of lack of funds than anything else.